New caveman

[Emexrulsier]

First of all I would like to say hi to everyone and thanks for the site which is helping me along with this diet.

I am looking at muscle toning mainly for my own self confidence.  I am not exactly fat but I do have "flab" that I hate.  I don't like going topless to sun bath, I get pressured to go swimming with my family (wife and 2 young daughters) I always say I just find swimming boring and don't want to go but in reality it's because I'm a little embarrassed of my top half.  I'm 5'8 and weigh about 12.3stone on average (goes up and down 3 or 4lbs) so I'm not overweight I just seem to carry my fat in my chest and gut and I have had enough.

Anyways to compliment my exercising and and toning I wanted to look for a diet that I felt would do me justice and match perfectly with my life style.  I had tried previous calorie controlled diets and to be honest I had no noticeable results in any time frames.

My normal weekly diet would generally have been nothing during the day on most days a few days I did bring in a couple of slices of bread and had toast but other then that I was used to not eating anything until an even meal.

My problem is a seem to love fatty foods and also my eyes were always bigger then my belly.  If we were ordering a Pizza I would always have to get a side order of chips with it etc.  During the days the odd occasion (near payday lol) I sometimes would pop out during work and grab a KFC or Maccy Ds everyone knows they are bad for you but they were quick and convenient and would fill any hunger pains I may have had.

I started this diet on Monday and so far so good I have been very strict and sticking to the suggest Stage1 on the site.  I have been eating a few strawberries, blueberries and raspberries and some mixed nuts (walnuts, Brazil, Hazel and almonds) and then having a evening meal.

One thing I used to be bad at is eating little snacks during the evenings, be it a few biscuits or some crisps but I have been strong and resisted all these (they do still exist in the cupboards as the kids eat them)

I have also increased by liquid intake.  I used to have maybe 2 or 3 cups of coffee during the day and the odd time a can of lager on an evening.  Since Monday I have been purely on water and probably have been have about 3.5 Litres a day, this is made easier by my work suppling free chilled bottled water.

So so far so good I have been keeping up with the exercise plus adding some new muscle toning and we will see how it goes.


One thing though I am a little hazy about is how much nuts/berrys should I be eating during the day.  My day starts about 7/8am and I don't eat and evening meal until about 7/9pm so its a 12 hour period.

So far I estimate I have had about 50g of Nuts each day and some berries before eating an evening meal

[Emexrulsier]

Also another question whats the deal with rice is this classed as a normal grain and prohibited and what about things like oats?

Also at the moment I'm feeling very tired on an evening I don't feel I'm getting enough energy to suppliment my exercises with low sugar and fat intakes intakes.  My only source of sugar now is naturally occuring sugars in fruit and limited fats (still on stage1 ofc).

[Tony Bondioli]

First off, welcome.   

As for how much to eat during the day, I can only offer this in the way of advice:  eat the right stuff, only when you are truly hungry, and only to the point of satisfaction (not "fullness").

To follow a paleo-correct way of eating strictly, rice is out, as are oats and other grains.  Personally, I regard wild rice as an acceptable food for this lifestyle, however, as it has been harvested and consumed by the indigenous peoples of North America's Great Lakes region since well before the agricultural revolution.  The tiredness you are feeling is normal as your body is adjusting its sugar and insulin balance to accomodate for your new style of eating.  If you need some extra energy, eat a sweet piece of fruit, a handful of nuts, and drink a big glass of water.  Within a few minutes, you should be feeling fine.  For a little extra kick (or if you are experiencing real hypoglycemia), remember that honey and maple syrup are also paleo-correct.

[Emexrulsier]

Cheers for that.  Week2 stays tomorrow Ive been very strict with the diet.  I thought the weekend would be hard as if I ever got a little bored I supposed I might have grabbed a packet of crisps or something but I have suceeded and stuck with the diet.  At worst I had a mouthful of cornbeef and potatoes that I was testing as I was cooking my daughters meal

Going to weigh myself tomorrow and see how the loss has been.  I was 12.38 last Monday so will be good to see.

[Lilnicki]

You're doing really well

I eat sweet potatoes and brown rice.  I'm doing this diet because of my poor digestion and i find these don't do me any harm. It depends really how strict you want to be with the paleo lifestyle. Do what works for you.

Nicki

 

[Tony Bondioli]

Do what works for you.

Well said, Nicki.  That's the bottom line.

[houmax]

For a little extra kick (or if you are experiencing real hypoglycemia), remember that honey and maple syrup are also paleo-correct.

Check the labels to make sure it's real maple syrup, you don't want Mrs Butterworthless...

http://www.eatingrealfood.com/articles/is-mrs-butterworth-a-fraud/

[Emexrulsier]

To be honest over in the UK maple syrup is limited there is maybe only one or two comman brands many are just advertised as "Real Canadian Maple Syrup"

Anyways I weighed myself this morning .... 11.11 wow I've lost 6lbs in one week

[Emexrulsier]

Well Stage1 for me all over and I'm half way through week 1 of stage2.  I can notice a a toning in my belly and my arms this not purely down to the diet but mixed with toning exercises.  I have tried diets in the past and non gave results like this one.

I weighed myself this morning and I am 11 Stone 1 that's a loss of 17lbs in a little over 4 weeks!!  That for me is a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 22.2 compared to around this time last year when I was on the brink of a BMI of 25

[Emexrulsier]

Well closing in on my first year of this way of eat, fair enough ive had slack times but I am still roughly 2 stone less than I was this time last year.  The weight seems to have stopped coming off I just seem to maintain my current weight which is good for me

[Falcon]

Hello fellow UK cave person!
Sounds like you've done brilliantly in the last year. I've been going 6months and have lost 19.5lbs (gotta get that .5 in there, it's a big deal!!), so still about 9lbs to go to reach my target weight.
You must have hit your ideal weight for your height and activity levels then, I'm looking forward to doing that. I've had slack times too, but it's always easy to get back on the wagon.
Cool to hear another success story!

Falcon